Bought my last Honda.

temp and gas formulation have a big impact on mileage..
you will get better mileage in the summer due to more energy per gallon. winter gas sucks..

I know about the winter gas, but I've got to assume I was on summer gas the whole weekend.

Rain would hurt mpg?  Friction on the tires? Does the wiper action affect the aerodynamics?  It was windy today.  

Maybe Friday was a perfect storm.  Sunny warm. I did run the AC.

 something I found

The following is a list of factors that contribute to fuel efficiency:

Longer warmup time.

Engine cools faster requiring more running to keep catalytic converters up to temp.

Warm up of any kind uses richer mix burning even more fuel

Increased oil viscosity and gear lubricant viscosity.

Fuel Atomizes poorly in cold weather, resulting in less efficient combustion.

Decreased battery capacity and response.

Lower Tire Pressure (unless you check regularly)

Increased Rolling Resistance (increased energy to flex less flexible sidewall).

Increased Rolling Resistance (rain/slush/snow).

Colder air is Denser meaning more wind resistance. For every 10 degree F drop in temperature, aerodynamic drag increases by 2%. In practice, MPG may increase by 1% for every 2 degree F increase.

Winter Fuel. (Lower Energy per Volume)

Higher Auxiliary Electric Use (Headlights, Defrosters, Defoggers).

Rain makes a huge difference. That is a lot more resistance.

First tank with no highway, just tooling around, groceries, errands etc got 25.2 mpg.  (No ECO button as the car that drives me crazy in stop and go driving.)

The 2006 would give me about 22 for the same kind of driving.  So that's a pretty decent jump.  I now think that you can't compare mpg two cars when one has an instant MPG meter on the dash. For me at least, it has changed the way I drive.  

I'd like to see that feature required by law. Would improve the driving of some people, and also it'd be staring you in the face when you are test driving that hummer.

I have consumption reporting on my car as well and I set my display to Consumption 99% of the time. It is amazing how taking just a tiny bit of foot off the accelerator effects consumption.

I have an instant digital mpg as a choice on my car but it is hard to watch as it changes every 100 ft. The numbers are constantly changing.

My gauge is quasi-analog.  Just a gauge with:

0 ------- 30 ------- 60

So I figure above 30 is good, below, not so good.

An actual number (like the digital speedo on Zelda's Civic) is pretty useless IMO.  At least on the Civic it requires a 2 mph change to switch, so it's not twitchy.

Had a 2007 CRV in the shop today with a bad rear universal on the rear drive shaft..  Nothing available in the aftermarket for universal joints you have to go to the dealer.  Well they don't sell just universals you have to get the whole driveshaft $834 our cost. The poor lady almost S#it. Good thing you got rid of that old one Harv. It did have 243000 miles on it though.

Trouble in paradise.

Funky sound out of the trans or maybe the rear diff today.

Not good.  Can't seem to make it happen again.

I have a theory, will do some testing.

Drove to the mountains labor day weekend with a boat on the roof. As expected the 30s (mpg) were unattainable.  I got 26.5 on a tank that had 2 gallons used around town netting 25, so maybe we pulled 27+ highway (just a guess).

The Thule setup/fit kit that I had to buy to get the boat on top is MUCH less functional that the old setup. On my old setup the bars and "feet" could go on and off with no tools (just a key) in under 30 seconds. To take the bar off now requires and allen wrench on EIGHT screws that are on top and face INWARD.  It's a major hassle.

For my trip this weekend instead of taking the rack off I slapped on our faring (plastic wind thingie).  It definitely cuts down on wind noise, but only pulled 28.5 mpg - not as much of as improvement as I'd hoped vs having a boat on top.

How big is the boat? Surely a trailer would be more efficient for anything bigger than a canoe.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

How big is the boat? Surely a trailer would be more efficient for anything bigger than a canoe.

It's a Hornbeck, the classic ten-footer:



I got 29.1 today with the faring/rack and nothing on top.

That included two miles of stop and stop at exit 8 on the Northway.

By the end of that jam average mpg was down to 26 and at the end of day I got it up.  

Looks like 30 is the limit with the faring.

OK, that "boat" is hardly even a canoe. Should be pretty low on the aero drag scale. Bottom line is, if you are that concerned about MPG why are you driving this car? Sell it fast, get the Prius/diesel/hybrid/whatever. We all have a carbon footprint, do what you can do to make yours as small as you can with as little compromise to your chosen lifestyle as possible. Therein lies the challenge. And the balance.

Concern isn't the right word. Interested? I'm a bit of hyper-miler at heart and the (highly accurate!) digital gauge feeds into that.

I just like seeing what I can do. Also have to admit that I'm amazed that "boat" is a 7mpg difference.

The CRV (or something of it's ilk) is the right car for our mountain car.  Looked at the Toyota Venza - that looks pretty cool too.  I do think the engine in the CRV is a marvel.

What SBR said.

TD

Telemark Dave wrote

What SBR said.

TD

Yeegads. The $ you have in those SUPs would power a Chevy Tahoe for days, or at least a month.

Harv: Toyota Venza = most stolen car in The Hinterlands.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Yeegads. The $ you have in those SUPs would power a Chevy Tahoe for days, or at least a month.

Harv: Toyota Venza = most stolen car in The Hinterlands.

Yeah, but since neither one is carbon, there's no carbon footprint...

Though loading them on the Echo does reduce my highway mileage a wee bit. Like down to just under 50 mpg (imperial, About 45 mpg In U.S. gallons..

I was trying to reinforce your point about lifestyle vs. car choices and the compromises necessary...

TD

Telemark Dave wrote

I was trying to reinforce your point about lifestyle vs. car choices and the compromises necessary...

Hear, hear. The Snehco rules. I was just being obtuse, as usual.

Well what really matters is that when one owns a car, you will make compromises based on your expectations and requirements when you bought it, and what your current situation is.  We make do with 2 small cars - the Echo and a Golf - even though there are 4 of us that need transportation along with all the gear that comes with an active lifestyle. Each car has racks that accommodate a ski box in the winter (or summer if required), and we've even doubled up the ski boxes to make week long ski trips possible...with alpine and nordic gear!

In the summer the cars can carry up to 4 bikes each easily.  Yes it can be cramped. On the flip side, the gas efficiency of both cars is excellent, even with all the gear loaded on top.  

If you are justifying your car selection based on "carbon credits" and or enviromental guilt, then be prepared to make adjustments to your expectations.  Harv, maybe you should just put more time in using your skins....you already use a human powered watercraft, and do a lot of biking....one or two laps up your ski hill when the others are riding lifts does wonders to  ease your mind. And you might score first trax..!

My 2 cents (sense)

TD